Chapter 108: Epiphany, Mental Strike, Killing with a Glance, Moon-Reading Slash, and the Prankster's

Chapter 108: Epiphany, Mental Strike, Killing with a Glance, Moon-Reading Slash, and the Prankster's Club (4K)



"Clang!"

As the blades clashed once more, Xueheng felt the immense force transmitted from the knife in his hand and sighed inwardly. As expected of himself.

"Boom!"

Intense power surged into the blades, and the 'Xueheng' in front of him did the same, causing the point of contact to explode, clearing a vacuum zone with a diameter of nearly three meters in the pouring rain. The two figures were sent flying back over ten meters.

At the same time, thunder rumbled and lightning flashed in the sky, providing light and casting countless shadows on the ground.

These shadows only existed for an instant, but both Xuehengs seized this moment, turning the shadows into black airflow and igniting vast black flames that surged towards each other.

The pitch-black shadow flames were not fire in essence; they merely manifested in the form of fire. They possessed the destructive power to annihilate matter purely.

The two surging shadow flames collided, ceaselessly annihilating each other, quietly disappearing into the air without a sound.

...

After more than half an hour, the scenario Xueheng had envisioned was almost completely destroyed, with crisscrossing crevices and giant pits everywhere.

With his reservations set aside and no concern for his surroundings, Xueheng's destructive power was beyond human.

The battle was not over yet, but his mind was struggling to hold on.

The continuous consciousness simulation and the intense, high-intensity combat had drained his mental strength.

With a thought, he stopped the fight, and the 'Xueheng' charging at him disintegrated into countless pixel blocks.

"I finally understand how troublesome I am."

Xueheng sighed.

After fighting himself, he truly realized his own strength.

Defense, speed, destructive power... everything was maxed out. It was ridiculously well-rounded, a true jack-of-all-trades.

He was helpless against himself and couldn't decide the victor.

"Unless someone with absolute power crushes and kills me instantly... otherwise, as long as I can fight back, it's hard for me to lose... This is the charm of a well-rounded build."

Xueheng thought.

With another thought, he exited the consciousness space.

[You have engaged in a simulated battle, gaining +269 Blade Strike experience]



[... +202 Close Combat experience]



[... +196 Dragon Subduing Fist experience]



[... +251 Observation • True experience]



[Blade Strike upgraded to Lv5 (21/2000)]



Xueheng sat cross-legged, placing the Rabbit Suppressing Blade on his knees and gently stroking its sheath.

A strong sense of blood connection emanated from his palm that touched the blade.

Vaguely, he seemed to sense the blade's 'emotions.'

Calm, gentle, and shadowy... like the moon in the sky, silently watching over the earth for millennia without wavering.

Sheathing the blade meant the dark moon sinking, and unsheathing it meant the bright moon rising high.

Xueheng seemed to have a sudden realization and remained seated, unmoving.

Gradually, his presence faded away, even though he wasn't wearing his 'glasses.'

Silver-white began to permeate his irises, but unlike before, where it gave off a detached, contemptuous, and divine feeling, the silver-white now resembled moonlight, gentle and serene, instilling a sense of peace.

A squirrel holding an acorn in its paws scampered over to Xueheng's side, unafraid, and hopped onto his knee, crouching down to nibble on the acorn.

As a gentle breeze blew, Xueheng's soft gaze turned towards a crucian carp in the lake.

Like moonlight gently showering downwards, soft and silent, the crucian carp quietly split into two pieces, seemingly unaware of its situation. The two halves of its body continued to move slightly, without any struggle.

After a few seconds, the bisected crucian carp stopped moving, but from start to finish, it showed no signs of pain or struggle, passing away peacefully.

Xueheng extended his palm and lifted the squirrel from his knee, his gentle silver eyes gazing at it.

The squirrel curiously returned his gaze, sensing no danger.

Xueheng smiled and placed it on the grass before standing up and stretching lazily.

[As you communicated with the blade, your understanding of the Celestial Blade's intent deepened. Combined with your mental power, you had an epiphany about a new application, gaining +1026 Blade Strike experience]



[As you communicated with the blade, your understanding of the Celestial Blade's intent deepened. Combined with your mental power, you had an epiphany about a new application, gaining +1582 Observation • True experience]



The gentle silver-white faded from his irises, and Xueheng was delighted.

"Another 'epiphany' triggered! What a massive experience point gain!"

"The experience points are secondary. The most important thing is that I learned a fun new move..."

He recalled the scene where he had just sliced the crucian carp in the lake with a glance.

"If there are no surprises, this move should be a simple Mental Strike, only effective against another person's mind."

Xueheng speculated, his thoughts flashing.

After all, martial artists could only 'mentally interfere with their self-reality' and not perform acts of true superpower, slicing through matter out of thin air.

But because of his [Observation • True] ability, his mental power had gained a slight ability to interfere with external reality, and so this 'Mental Strike' had gained the substantial ability to slice through matter.

"Unbelievable... While this move isn't very powerful and can only just cut a fish, it should be more than enough to slice through an ordinary person's neck. For an assassination, it's unbeatable."

"But its true power lies in its attack on another person's mind... For now, I don't know the effects, and consciousness simulation can't mimic a scenario I haven't seen before. I'll have to find an opportunity to test it out later."

Xueheng stroked the Rabbit Suppressing Blade in his hand gently, his movements tender as if caressing a lover, feeling the calm and gentle sensation emanating from the blade.

"This epiphany is all thanks to you, Rabbit Suppressing Blade."

He thought for a moment before speaking aloud:

"Since this mental blade technique was derived from the scenery of the moon, I shall name it 'Moon-Reading Slash'."

"With just a glance, your opponent will be on their knees. It's quite the 'Moon-Reading' move..."

Xueheng covered his face with one hand, revealing only a single eye through the gap between his fingers, suddenly feeling a bit dramatic.

"A true hero slays with a glance!"

...

Two days later.

On the track in the small garden, Xueheng paused and checked his panel.

[Running upgraded to Lv7 (96/4500)]



He took an inward look, observing his strengthened legs and lungs, and nodded.

"Good, running has finally leveled up."

This skill, which had been the fastest to level up initially, had gradually fallen behind.

It had to do with Xueheng's decreasing focus on it, as the improvements in his other skills were much more noticeable, making the returns from running seem less attractive.

So, he had only been running for about an hour a day as a warm-up.

Xueheng opened the panel to check his current stats.

[Fitness] was just 2,000 experience points away from reaching Lv9, and [Health Cultivation] had also reached almost Lv7 after these few days of practicing the Dragon-Subduing Thunder Technique.

[Aiming] was about to reach Lv7 as well, even though he hadn't been practicing it much recently.

The two new skills, [Swimming] and [Riding], had both reached Lv3 and were close to Lv4 in the past few days.

"That's quite luxurious."

Xueheng looked at the panel, feeling a sense of satisfaction.

He closed the panel and was about to head back to play some darts to break through the [Aiming] skill when his phone vibrated with a notification.

It was a message from Wu Youqing.

[Wu Youqing: Come to the library when you have time.]



Xueheng couldn't refuse an invitation from the boss.

He replied with an 'okay' and immediately went home to shower and change. Then he took the bus to Qing University and headed straight for the library.

He swiped his card and made his way to the seventh floor.

What greeted him was a familiar sight—a beautiful girl sitting upright in a wooden chair, holding a book, like a painting.

Xueheng felt a strange sense of reassurance, similar to meeting an old friend after many years and finding that they hadn't changed at all.

That was the kind of reassuring feeling Wu Youqing gave people.

When Wu Youqing saw Xueheng enter, she closed her book, blinked, and pointed to the seat opposite her.

"Have a seat."

Xueheng walked over and sat down.

There were already two cups on the wooden table, one in front of him containing a black liquid that fizzed slightly, with bubbles rising to the top.

It was obviously a Coke.

"Sister finally understands my taste. I'm touched."

Xueheng said flatly as he picked up the cup and took a sip.

"..."

He twitched his mouth and looked helplessly at Wu Youqing.

A hint of mischief appeared on the calm face of the girl, as if she was a little proud.

"I've already arranged everything for you. The ship leaves at noon tomorrow. I bought the ticket with your ID. It's a direct cruise to Fengcheng. You should have received a text message."

Xueheng put down the Coke, which had been sweetened with sugar, picked up his phone, and sure enough, there was a message.

[Dear VIP passenger of the Infinity Nova cruise ship, your reservation for... ]



It included the boarding time, the pier check-in location, the room number, and a detailed introduction to the 'Infinity Nova' cruise ship.

"Thank you, Boss. These tickets must be expensive."

Xueheng asked with a smile.

Wu Youqing crossed her arms, "How expensive could a cruise be? I didn't charter the whole ship.

"Traveling by water is faster. To get from Qingcheng to Fengcheng by land, you'd have to take a roundabout route, which is quite troublesome. As for flying... it's not very safe. By water, you can get there in a day or two."

She reached into the small bag she had placed on the chair next to her and pulled out a file with several pages, which she handed to Xueheng.

"The agent I arranged for you will contact you tomorrow. These are the profiles of the opponents you'll face in the Fengcheng elimination tournament."

Xueheng took the file from her.

"With your current strength, there's not much to worry about. After all, it's just an elimination tournament... But it's always good to know your opponents to avoid any mishaps."

Wu Youqing spoke gently.

Xueheng flipped open the file and glanced through it as he replied:

"Boss, a few days ago, someone named Ning Yuantai from the 'Zhi Go' group invited me to join them as an external member, offering the same conditions as the White Crows. I agreed."

"Is there anything I should be aware of?"

Wu Youqing thought for a moment. "Ning Yuantai? That name sounds vaguely familiar. He should be from the Ning family."

"Since you're cultivating the martial way, having a connection with Zhi Go is generally a good thing."

"There's just one thing to keep in mind."

Xueheng quickly skimmed through the file and, not finding any notable opponents, closed it. He looked at Wu Youqing curiously and asked:

"What is it?"

The girl hesitated for a moment before answering:

"Regarding Zhi Go, stay away from anything related to the words 'Prankster Club.'"

Xueheng's eyes narrowed in confusion. "'Prankster Club'? What does that mean?"

It sounded like a playful nickname for a child. Could it be some kind of divine artifact?

Wu Youqing seemed unsure how to describe it and thought for a moment before saying uncertainly:

"I think it's a terrorist organization..."

"Really?" Xueheng raised an eyebrow.

"Their official name is 'Prankster Club'... It's a very peculiar global organization."

"It's a name that sounds like a child's plaything, but they do act like they're playing a game... except their 'play' is on a grand scale."

"According to them, their sole purpose for existing is to 'make the world a more exciting place.'"

Xueheng stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Sounds interesting."

Wu Youqing nodded. "It is interesting."

"But when anything goes to extremes, it becomes terrifying."

"For example, kidnapping a politician's child just to play a live-ammunition game with the police, releasing a 'Titan-class' border creature in a city center and then pretending to be superheroes to defeat it, infiltrating two countries as spies and stirring up a war between them for fun... They'll do anything as long as it 'makes the world more exciting.'"

"Sometimes they'll declare war on a powerful ancient god for the tears of a little girl, and sometimes they'll help a small, bullied nation stand up to a superpower..."

"In short, they're a group of lunatics whose logic is impossible for normal people to predict."

Wu Youqing twirled a lock of her smooth, long hair around her finger and then tossed it back over her shoulder.

"If they were just a bunch of lunatics, it wouldn't be so bad. But these people... they're ridiculously strong."

Xueheng nodded. "I get the picture."

"In any case, they're a group of terrorists who will do anything as long as they find it 'fun' or 'exciting.'"

"And once they set their sights on you, they're like a bad rash that won't go away."

Wu Youqing rubbed her temples and sighed, looking exasperated.

"According to Zhi Go, this group is like 'a lump of shit when they're together and scattered feces when they're apart.'"

"Even if there's only a one-in-a-million chance, it's best not to get involved with them. Otherwise, you'll definitely regret it."

"I understand." Xueheng nodded, taking the warning to heart and committing the name 'Prankster Club' to memory.

...

After spending a little more time with Wu Youqing and chatting idly, Xueheng left the library and took the bus home.

He wanted to tell Cat about his cruise trip to Fengcheng the next day, but she wasn't home.

Xueheng didn't mind and picked up the darts, aiming at the dartboard.

With his current strength, he had to be careful not to throw the darts too hard, or he would end up destroying the board.

Each dart landed precisely in the red center, with not even a millimeter of deviation.

After about twenty minutes, a notification appeared on the panel.

[Aiming upgraded to Lv7 (1/4500)]



...

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end